COLLEGE FOOTBALL

COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Syracuse's Popular Quarterback Says Goodbye

By CHARLIE NOBLES

Published: December 29, 1998

MIAMI, Dec. 28—
Florida State Coach Bobby Bowden, not given to rash statements, calls Donovan McNabb the country's best college football player. Michigan's Lloyd Carr offers that he is impossible to trap with four defensive rushers. Steve Spurrier of Florida talks about the accuracy of his arm and expects him to be the first quarterback taken in the National Football League draft.

But McNabb's special ability is only part of his story. His easy smile and friendly, self-effacing manner also have contributed to his stature as one of central New York's most popular athletes ever.

At his final home game, against Miami, McNabb received standing ovations from a sold-out crowd at Syracuse University both at the game's start and end. Graybeards had to hark back to Ernie Davis's career at Syracuse in the early 1960's to find a comparable fan reaction.

''I don't know if the fans could have cheered any longer or any harder for one guy,'' Syracuse Coach Paul Pasqualoni said today, as the Orangemen began preparation for their Orange Bowl game against Florida on Saturday.

''He is as well-loved a kid in the community as any we've had,'' Pasqualoni added. ''He's been a role model for every kid in New York.''

McNabb has amassed 8,389 passing yards, has run for another 1,561 and has accounted for 96 touchdowns, enough to make him a projected No. 1 pick in the N.F.L. draft despite an abundance of quarterbacks.

Besides McNabb, there is the Kentucky junior Tim Couch, who has said he would turn pro if he was the draft's No. 1 pick, as well as Daunte Culpepper of Central Florida, Michael Bishop of Kansas State and Cade McNown of U.C.L.A.

Spurrier, coach of the Florida Gators, said today that if he were a pro coach, he would be delighted to draft McNabb.

Though turning professional is just a game away for McNabb, a 6-foot-3-inch, 220-pounder, today he played down much of the speculation about his pro future.

''Florida is all I'm thinking about right now,'' he said. ''Winning this game is why I'm down here.'' Asked later whether he has mentally sized up his quarterback draft competition, he said, ''I'm really not worried who's in it.''

''If Doug Johnson is in it, then I'll think about what he's doing,'' he said, referring to the Florida quarterback. ''But if they're not Gators, then I'm not worried about them.''

Yet later he acknowledged that he would be interested in playing for the Chicago Bears, who have the No. 7 pick. They have indicated a keen interest in him, in part because he is from nearby Dolton, Ill.

If a recommendation from Pasqualoni counts for anything, more than the Bears will be interested.

''I think he has everything you'd look for in a quarterback,'' he said, ''especially in this day and age where everybody is interested in the mobile quarterback -- the guy who can make a play, keep a play alive and use good judgment. I see him doing better than all those guys in the draft.''

Pasqualoni has grown accustomed to seeing the elusive McNabb make something grand out of what had looked like nothing.

His favorite: Against Virginia Tech this season, fourth-and-8 with the Orangemen losing by 4 points and the game clock nearing zero.

''We go back to throw the ball,'' Pasqualoni said, recalling the sweetness of the play. ''He knows the protection in the blitz so well that he hits the one lane that was available. He takes off and runs for 42 yards.''

Then, to top it off, McNabb threw 13 yards for the touchdown that won that game, a victory that was pivotal in Syracuse's winning the Big East Conference title and gaining the Orange Bowl bid.

''I've seen him do so many wonderful things,'' Pasqualoni said. ''Sometimes I say to myself, 'How did he do that?' But I'm never surprised by what he is able to do.''

The Gators realize he is more than a handful, said cornerback Tony George.

''I think discipline is going to be a real key in this game,'' he said. ''A guy that's so dangerous like him, you have to stay in your lanes and be careful not to be caught out of position. He'll be up the field on you if you do. I plan on having to use my eyes a lot to pick up a little tendency here and there if I can.''

McNabb, however, is not likely to give too much away. Despite playing four years of football and two years of basketball, he graduated in four years, with a degree in speech communications.

''And he runs the huddle with all the confidence in the world,'' the senior guard Scott Kiernan said. ''It's a pleasure to be there with him. He knows what he's doing and everybody loves him.''

-------------------- Two Gator Defenders Out

MIAMI, Dec. 28 (AP) -- Florida lost two key defensive players today when defensive end Tim Beauchamp and cornerback Dock Pollard were suspended for Saturday's Orange Bowl game with Syracuse.

The players ''broke a university rule,'' Coach Steve Spurrier said, declining to elaborate.

Photo: Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb warming up during a practice for the Orange Bowl on Saturday. (Associated Press)